Battered Blackhawks look to cool off Flames
By Field Level Media
Here come the Chicago Blackhawks -- wobbly and wounded and without their top scorer, but home nonetheless.
After enduring a harrowing road trip that saw them lose all five games in addition to multiple players, the Blackhawks are set to return to United Center against the Calgary Flames on Sunday.
Rookie forward Connor Bedard headlines the list of inactives. Bedard left midway through the first period of Friday's 4-2 loss at New Jersey after taking a hit from Devils defenseman Brendan Smith. Bedard, the top overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft who leads Chicago with 33 points, skated off while holding his face.
On Saturday, the Blackhawks announced Bedard had suffered a fractured jaw and placed him on injured reserve.
"It's definitely hard to wrap our heads around," Chicago's Ryan Donato said. "It's so fresh still for us to realize what's going on, but we hope the best for him and hopefully we can keep the guys positive."
Teammate Nick Foligno also was placed on injured reserve with a fractured left finger sustained during a second-period fight with Smith.
Taylor Raddysh (groin), Tyler Johnson (right foot), and Anthony Beauvillier (left wrist) left games with injuries earlier in the trip.
"I think that's the NHL. It's the next-man-up mentality," Chicago defenseman Jarred Tinordi said. "You look around the league, we're not the only team going through it right now. If you look at our roster, it looks like we're going through it maybe a little bit worse than others, but I think we have to step up, myself included."
Calgary is aiming to secure a winning record on its four-game trip. The Flames fell to the host Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Saturday afternoon after winning at Minnesota and Nashville by a combined count of 9-4.
The Flames got goals from Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar and a 39-save effort from Jakob Markstrom on Saturday. Travis Konecny's short-handed goal in the third period stood up as the game-winner.
"The first period was OK, but I thought the second and third, we got outworked," Calgary coach Ryan Huska said. "They were the better team. ... The first period, I thought we got off to a good start, and then the second and third period, Jakob was the reason why this game was close."
The Flames have won six of their past nine games after a slow start. Weegar's goal against the Flyers was his ninth, already a career high with more than half the season to play.
Calgary hopes to revamp its attack against Chicago after sputtering in Philadelphia.
"You've got to leave it behind," Huska said. "I mean, we have another game (Sunday). We want to come home with a really solid road record on this trip, so it's an important game for us. We have to turn our attention to Chicago."
Sunday marks the first of three meetings between the Blackhawks and Flames this season. Calgary is set to host Chicago on Jan. 27 before the teams meet again at United Center on March 26.
Dancing for Rain: Blackhawks vs. Flames Preview
By Second City Hockey
Just about everything which could go wrong for the Blackhawks has done just that in the last month or so, with the misery finding another gear on Friday night as Connor Bedard suffered a fractured jaw that sent him to injured reserve and will have him out of the lineup for the foreseeable future, including Sunday afternoon’s game against the Calgary Flames.
Chicago enters this game on a five-game losing streak, part of a 13-game stretch in which the Blackhawks have just two victories. With Bedard among the plethora of Chicago forwards on injured reserve, the team added a few warm bodies on Saturday who’ll likely do nothing more than inspire the deep cuts for a round of “Let’s Remember Some Guys” several years down the road.
The situation is not as bleak in Calgary, although it’s hard to describe the Flames’ situation as “good,” either. Calgary has 39 points in 39 games, good for sixth place in the Pacific Division and just two points shy of the second wild card spot in the west. Its offense isn’t exactly flourishing, although the Flames do have eight players with at least 20 points already this season, led by Blake Coleman’s 30 points (15 G, 15 A) and Nazem Kadri’s 28 (11 G, 17 A). The primary development there is that Jonathan Huberdeau is down at 11th on the team with just 18 points (6 G, 12 A) in 39 games after cashing in on a 115-point season in 2021-22 to the tune of an 8-year, $84 million contract. But Huberdeau had just 55 points in 79 games last season and is even farther off that pace this season, nowhere near the level of production Calgary was seeking when it traded for and then signed Huberdeau in the summer of 2022.
Veteran Jacob Markstrom is the primary option in net, sporting a 10-11-2 record, .908 save percentage and 2.67 goals-against average. Those numbers are fine enough, as backup Daniel Vladar (6-4-2, .888, 3.36) hasn’t grabbed the reins during his third season with Calgary since coming over in a trade out of Boston. With Markstrom playing 24 hours prior, this seems like a start for Vladar.
Overall, Calgary seems a bit like a team adrift in the seas of the NHL at the moment: not really bad enough to fall into the lottery and land a franchise-turning draft pick but also likely not good enough to be considered a serious Cup contender. The Flames have won six of their last nine games entering this one — although the most recent outing was a 3-2 loss to the Flyers in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon — but even that solid stretch has them toiling in mediocrity in the West.
Tale of the Tape
Blackhawks — Statistic — Flames
43.85% (31st) — 5-on-5 Corsi For — 50.95% (11th)
41.66% (32nd) — 5-on-5 Expected goals for — 50.47% (15th)
2.31 (31st) — Goals per game — 3.03 (t-20th)
3.77 (31st) — Goals against per game — 3.15 (t-18th)
45.0% (32nd) — Faceoffs — 51.0% (11th)
13.0% (29th) — Power play — 12.1% (30th)
74.8% (t-26th) — Penalty kill — 84.7% (5th)
Today's edition of, "Songs That You Forgot You Knew"...
Go Flames Go!
It is way beyond that. I can't think of a player on this roster >25yo that is irreplaceable. Backlund and Coleman as a 3rd line duo is about it. Maybe Huberdeau because at least he wears his heart on his sleeve. But the UFA guys? Just trade them. They all at least average half-way to being checked out. Their value is likely on the decline. Just get moved them already. We are exactly where we deserve to be, 4th worst in the West. Even that is only by being propped up by Markstrom giving us a chance every game. Yesterday SN carried 2 games, this one and the Wings vs Anaheim. It was like a dream date. The only one I worried about was the Wings trying to continue to get back on track vs a really good goalie in Dostal. A goal with a minute left secured the Wings the W. *Easy to know via our wonderful CDN Leafs-frenzy media that they swept California. Well...the Wings just did the same. The Flames...just feeding my apathy. If Zary/Coleman don't make things happen, I feel like the rest of the team is incapable. Team chock-full of passengers.
